Investment bank Moelis & Company appointed for restructuring of UAE’s Finablr

Prism Group and Abu Dhabi’s Royal Strategic Partners (RSP) have appointed investment bank Moelis & Company to advise on the restructuring of UAE-based Finablr and its subsidiaries (the group).

Prism formed a consortium with RSP to complete the purchase of the group at the end of last year. The consortium and Finablr  have been working together with regulators and stakeholders to conclude the formalities of the acquisition. The consortium has also been funding urgent working capital needs to stabilise the business and preserve value and is seeking to restart operations.

In December 2020, Finablr agreed to sell off its business to an Israeli-UAE consortium for $1, capping the collapse of a business that had a market value of £1.5bn ($2bn) a year earlier.

Read: Finablr sold for $1 to Israeli-UAE consortium

Moelis & Company will advise the consortium’s SPV Global Fintech Investment Holdings (GFIH) on developing a capital structure proposal to be presented to the group’s financial creditors in the coming weeks. The appointment is also expected to lead to the re-opening of UAE Exchange, the Abu Dhabi-based remittance house, whose branches have been closed since March 2020, along with the group’s other leading products. They include global money transfer group Xpress Money and businesses in international markets including India.

Dr. Hamad Al-Ali, CEO of Royal Strategic Partners, said: “Together with our partners, we have continued to make tremendous progress over the past months with the leading global advisors assisting us on this deal. Our engagement of Moelis as our financial advisor is yet another testament to our commitment to reviving the business swiftly whilst keeping in mind the best interests of its lenders, customers and employees.”

“I fully support the appointment of Moelis as we continue to work with our stakeholders to restore the financial stability of Finablr,” noted Robert Miller, CEO at Finablr Group. “I am thankful to the leadership of the UAE, its regulators, our creditors, and all our stakeholders for their engagement and support as we push forward with the transaction with the consortium to revitalise the company’s operations in the UAE and beyond.”

Prism’s co-founder Amir Nagammy said: “We are committed to implementing a long term group-wide transformation programme at Finablr so that it can better serve its customers, strengthen its balance sheet and play a leading role in driving economic growth in the UAE.”

“The fintech market is evolving rapidly and Finablr’s transformation will build on its proprietary technology to ensure that it is well placed to drive further innovation and investment in leading digital payment platforms and services for all its global customers”.